How To Catch A Goat

Since early last Spring, we have been farm-animal-less... There are some earlier posts describing the loss of our various pets and farm animals... Last week Chuck decided to get another goat.

As Chuck was unloading the goat, he let the goat into the yard to roam free for a bit. However, being the goat wasn't used to people, he wouldn't willing allow Chuck or the girls to get close to him. Needless to say, the goat ended up running across our yard into the neighbors field, gone forever... Wow! thats a new record for us. We only had the pet for a few hours before losing it...

A few nights later I saw a note by our front door, it was from our neighbors two houses down: "We found your goat. He has taken up residence in our barn. Our donkeys aren't happy about it. We will be home tomorrow evening to help you collect him. :) "

So, Thursday afternoon, Chuck got our goat back.

The following Saturday was my day off and I had a list of chores to get done. I woke up early and while the kids were still sleeping, I started sorting toys in the basement. The kids started waking up so I ran upstairs to fix them some breakfast. Josh finished up his breakfast then went outside to start his chores. I, still in my pajamas and still not completed with the basement, started making cookies for the fire department Christmas dinner on Sunday... I'm a multitakser, what can I say- Lol...

Josh came up to the kitchen window to tell me the goat was stuck in the barn. I shrugged my shoulders and mouthed for him to get the goat unstuck. Several minutes later I had one batch of cookies in the oven and 3 more trays ready to go in. Josh came in the garage door and told me the goat was now in the yard... **what?**... I stepped out of the kitchen and peered out the sliding glass door... Yep. The goat was standing by the back deck... I rolled my eyes, this always happens when Chuck is working at the fire department, "You and Caleb go out and see if you can catch him" I told Josh. In the midst of this, I had put in another batch of cookies.

Waiting for the timer on the cookies, I went down the hall and put in a load of clothes. Then back to the kitchen to put in more cookies. Looking out the kitchen window, I watched for a minute as the goat continued to elude the boys. I took the cookies out of the oven, grabbed my coat and boots and headed out to the yard... still in my jammies...

Josh had a bucket of food, but the goat wasn't interested. I walked down to the gate to prop it open, hoping we could maybe "shew" the goat into the fenced area. To my surprise, the goat went quite willingly into the fenced area and trotted up to the barn. The boys and I spread out around the barn trying to direct the goat into his pin. After several failed attempts we gave up, assuming that being in the fence was good enough. As we walked back to the house, Chuck sent me a text explaining part of the fence was down and the goat needed to be in the pin... Great! ...

Josh went into the house to get ready for his bowling match while Caleb and I walked back out to the barn. Between the two of us, we could get the goat close to the pin gate, but he wouldn't go in. We set a bucket of food in front of the pin, but as soon as we made the first step toward him, he would bolt.

Caleb and I took turns blocking one side of the barn while the other one shewed the goat back toward the pin. The goat would get to barn opening and then zig zag away. Round and round we went. To the left. To the right. Down the drive to the gate and back. Round and round some more. Caleb and I decided to block off one of the goats escape routes with a wooden fence section. As we heaved up the section, a nail caught my pajama leg and ripped a hole in my pants... My Favorite pants! figures... We put the section in place, successfully blocking it off, but still not successful at capturing the goat.

The next time the goat headed round the barn he took a different path and trotted down the ravine and up to the other side. "For. Get. It" I told Caleb, "Lets just go in" As Caleb and I walked down the drive to the gate we heard Gracie yell, "He's in Molly's pin"

Sure enough and don't ask me how, that stupid goat got into the dogs pin. Molly wasn't a bit happy about it either. "Ok, Caleb" I started, setting up a plan to get the goat, "We'll let Molly out and you get her pinned up on the porch while I get the goat. Then we'll carry him back to the barn"

We let Molly slip out while I slipped into the pin. I waited for Caleb and Gracie to get Molly taken care of before I attempted to grab the goats horns. And I waited some more while those two messed around trying to corral that darn dog. I rolled my eyes... as I had done several times that morning... slipped out of the pin, and corralled Molly in the garage. "Common Caleb!" I headed back to Molly's pin.

As I tried to grab the goats horn, he tried to get away from me and ended up wedging himself between the dog's house and the fence. I grabbed both horns and yanked him around. "Open the door" I shouted. I steered the goat out of the dog's pin and toward the other gate. Caleb walked along side me as I continued to "Steer" the goat... It was like having my hands on the joystick of some sort of interactive game... LoL... Through the gate and up the hill... I was getting a real workout on my arms and back muscles.

Finally.. FInaLLY... the goat was his pin and That is how to catch a goat!... Whew! I needed a shower!

Walking back to the house I gasped, "My Cookies!... I sure hope Josh took them out of oven before he left" I didn't see any smoke coming from the kitchen and with no energy left to "run" to the house, I figured I'd get there soon enough. If the cookies were still in the oven they'd already be burnt and there was nothing I could do about that.

Well, Josh did take the cookies out. I did get my shower before finishing up the cookies... I didn't want any goat hair cookies- lol... Caleb finished up the basement.... and all this before Noon... I sure wished for a nap